USCIS has announced that it will release an updated version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on August 1, 2023, which will be shorter and give employers that are enrolled in E-Verify the option to remotely examine the identity and employment authorization documents of their employees when completing the Form.  Specifically, E-Verify employers will be able to remotely verify employee documents if they examine and retain copies of all the documents presented by the employee for the Form I-9, conduct a live video interaction with the employee, and create an E-Verify case if the employee is a new hire.  

This is an important development because employers are normally required to physically inspect in-person the employment eligibility documents of a new employee to confirm they are allowed to work in the United States.  Of course, during COVID-19, complying with this requirement became challenging so the government temporarily allowed employers to remotely verify identity documents for remote workers.  In May 2023, the government announced that the remote verification option would come to an end on July 31, 2023, and that all employers had until August 30, 2023, to complete in-person physical inspection of employment eligibility documents used to complete the Form I-9.  At the same time, the agency indicated it was considering how to make remote verification available, especially because many employers continue to allow for remote work with employees distributed across the United States.  Based on the agency’s latest announcement, the remote verification option will only be available to employers that use E-Verify.

As such, employers who are registered with E-Verify may be able to use the new remote verification option beginning August 1, 2023 to satisfy the physical document examination requirement by August 30, 2023 (depending on when they enrolled in E-Verify and when they remotely verified the employee).  Employers who were not enrolled in E-Verify during COVID-19 must complete an in-person physical examination by August 30, 2023, and update the Form I-9 (Section 2) accordingly.  Examples on how to update the Form I-9 are available here.  

E-Verify is a web-based system through which employers electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their employees.  Employers create a case for each new employee and enter the information provided on the employee’s Form I-9.  The information is checked in the databases of the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration, and an employer usually receives a response within a few seconds either confirming the employee’s eligibility to work in the US or the need for further action to complete the case.  There is no fee to use E-Verify and employers are encouraged to enroll in the program. 

The new Form I-9 will be published on the USCIS website here on August 1, 2023. Employers can use the current Form I-9 (edition date 10/21/19) until November 1, 2023, after which the August 1, 2023, version must be used.  

You can read the full agency announcement here. 

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further.